Extended Autumn

 According to the National Weather Service, winter is supposed to be warmer and dryer than the past few years. I won't complain! We do need the snowpack, and skiers and snowboarders might be disappointed; but honestly I'm hoping it stays high up in the mountains and away from the valley this year...

Birds, Birds, and More Birds

A beautiful Spring day!  Everything is so very green, and the songbirds are out if full force!  I set out my hummingbird feeders on Friday morning but have yet to see or hear any hummers at them. But that certainly doesn't mean they aren't here - I've seen several already, just not at MY feeders... 

This morning I saw a pair of Goldfinches in the ash trees, and hurried to set out the finch feeders. It sure didn't take them long - after less than ten minutes there were FIVE of them feasting on the thistle seed!  

House Finches, Waxwings, Yellow Warblers, House Wrens, and others I have yet to learn songs for, are abundant all around me, and I love it!  Nothing is better than to sit outside on a beautiful, quiet Spring morning, and listen to the birds!

Fire & Water

It's been a crazy year!  After so many forest fires last summer - that lasted until the first snows finally settled in - over one million acres of forest and prairie burned. Ranchers lost hoards of livestock, and some lost their entire livelihoods. When the snow finally came, it was probably more welcomed than ever before, and there was a good snow pack. 

And now we have the worst flooding since anyone can remember. The rivers are doubled in size, and overflowing every low lying area withing their grasp. Two homes have been washed away, farms along the river have had to move their cattle and sheep to higher ground, hay fields are being choked out by torrents of water, fishing accesses - and even entire sections of rivers - are closed to the public. Rescue teams have already been called out for those foolish enough to even try to float the waters right now, and everyone is keeping an eye on the fast flowing torrents quickly approaching the underside of the bridges. 

My personal theory on this phenomena, is that in a typical Spring, even as the weather warms up, there is enough shade on the heavily timbered mountains to allow the snow to melt slowly. However, with entire mountainsides burned away, those areas are completely open to the harsh heat of the sun, and the snow is melting extremely fast. That, along with some very stormy weather and a higher that usual rainfall, is causing the rivers to swell beyond their capacity.  I could, of course, be entirely wrong - but it makes sense, doesn't it? 


But oh my stars, is it going to be a banner year for mosquitoes!

Day 4

I can honestly say that I am already sick of winter. We’ve already had a season’s worth of snow, and considerably lower temperatures than are typical for December. With January normally being our coldest month, I am definitely not looking forward to the next few weeks.

That being said, spring is only 74 days away! 

Day 2

Tuesday, January 02, 2018  

Another nice winter day; and the sun is trying to peek through. I love sunny winter days, and even made it out onto the porch for a short time to enjoy the fresh, clean air.  It seems warmer than the 12 degrees on the thermometer. Maybe it’s just that it’s been so cold lately that 12 degrees feels like a heat wave!

The deer were active last night; their tracks scatter everywhere around the yard, and there are signs they bedded down beneath the trees. Mouse trails wander across the top of the snow, and disappear beneath the clumps of yucca. The magpies are quiet today.

Signs of Significance: 77 days until Spring!

New Beginnings

Monday, January 1, 2018 

Hello 2018! 

What an amazing beginning to a new year.

I awoke at 2:30 in the morning and could not go back to sleep to save my life. So I got up, opened the back door and greeted the new year.  And what a view!  The full moon lit everything up so brightly, it was almost like daylight. This is the “Super Moon” - the “Wolf Moon” as some tribes called it. So named because this was the time of year wolves could be heard howling with hunger. 

The moonlight splashed over everything. I doubt even a mouse could move without being seen. The snow was unbroken and looked like marshmallow creme in the pasture. The air was cold, crisp and refreshing. To even take a breath filled my lungs with the a feeling of cleansing. The air was completely still; silent in the new year morning. Not even the owls were calling.

I stood there for what seemed like forever, but was probably one a few minutes. I was cold but didn’t want to close the door. To be witness to what Mother Nature provided, and to feel such a sense of freshness and renewal was almost overwhelming. I wish I would have thought to try and get a photo.

Here’s to a new year full of promise, adventure and possibilities - it’s going to be a good one!

 

Signs of Significance:

  Today there was ten more minutes of daylight that there was on the WinterSolstice!

   78 days until Spring!

Oh, Happy Day!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

First day of Spring!  Woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning; clear blue sky, birds singing their little hearts out, sunshine, forecast of 56 degrees,,,  what better way to celebrate than with a road trip?  Headed up to the Bison Range with my camera and the Big Gun to see what I could find. 

My plan was to leave the house no later than 7:00, and 6:30 was preferable.  BUT… as is typical because I don’t account for the time it takes to get the dogs settled, I didn’t leave until 8:05.  But I was in no hurry and simply enjoyed the drive.

As I topped Evaro Hill the Mission Mountains came into view, and a big smile came onto my face.  The sight of these incredible mountains always makes me smile - it's like coming home. 

At Ravalli I turned off Highway 93 and onto Highway 200, and about six or eight miles down the road I was sidetracked for several minutes by the “Oreo Cows”, and got several shots of them and their little Oreo calves.  I have not idea what the official breed name is but I just love them.  

Arrived at the Bison Range at around 9:20 and headed on up to the Visitor Center but it is closed for the season; no fee!  I headed out on the ten mile winter drive, and as I passed the turnoff toward the staff housing area I stopped and began to turn, changed my mind and headed toward the winter road, and then changed my mind again and turned off.  I never know what causes me to change directions so suddenly, but I always trust that somewhere deep down, my intuition is guiding me.  It did so again today, for as I approached the bottom of the drive where Mission Creek comes nearest the road, I saw two swans on the creek. 

I parked my rig and got out to grab the tripod out of the back seat, but as I was setting the camera and lens on the tripod I heard the swans honking loudly from what I thought was overhead.  I looked out onto the creek and they were gone.  Damn, they flew away.  But again, that inner voice told me to wait, and sure enough the swans had not flown off, they had just floated down the creek and around the bend behind the cattails.  I aimed my lens and stood as still as possible while the male swam back toward me, seemingly checking me out.  He turned and swam away again but a very short time later the pair revealed themselves to me, as if they knew I would do them no harm. 

 

The male, K72 was here last year, and the female had K62 on her neck band.  The female last year had no neck band so I’m not sure if this is a new mate, or the same one with a new “necklace”.

The combination of the soft morning light, and the dark background of the water and the trees behind the creek gave me the most amazing shots of the swans!  When I had taken enough photos (can you ever really take "enough" photos?), I thanked the swans, picked up my tripod and walked back to my car.     

When I got back up to the winter road another vehicle was parked and I pulled in behind them.  A pair of Mountain Bluebirds were tending the nesting box attached to a fence post.  The males are such beautiful birds with their bright, turquoise blue feathers.  The females, being more drab, still have some blue feathers and even they are quite pretty.  As I shot some photos of them from inside my car, I noticed that the male had a bug in his mouth and I knew they had chicks already!   And once again, after numerous photos I thanked them for being so cooperative as I drove off. 

Meadowlarks were everywhere!  While they were singing prolifically, and very visible with their bright yellow breasts, they were unfortunately still too far away, even for the Big Gun (I need to name this lens).  But I left my window down just to listen to them, and just in case one was singing nearer the road. 

I drove slowly, enjoying the fact that I was the only vehicle on the road at the time.  No tourists zipping past and scaring off all of the critters; just me and the animals and my camera - gotta love it. 

At the spot where the creek runs alongside the road I saw several White-tail Deer and stopped to get some photos.  As I was pulling away I was startled by a Pronghorn that jumped up onto the road from the slope along the creek.  I think it was as startled as I was because it just stood there looking at me for several moments, and acted as if it wasn’t sure which way to go.  I took advantage of its indecision and got a good number of photos of it. I missed a :perfect” shot of it gazing off into the sun - the lighting was perfect but the mirror on my car was in the way.  But the shot I did get was looking in the same direction, although it had its nose to the ground.  Nonetheless however, it was a good shot and by far my favorite from the day.

As I had been photographing the Pronghorn, the deer wandered off to a more open area, and when the Pronghorn noticed they were no longer there he turned in the direction they had gone and quickened his pace to catch up with them.  I had to wonder why this Pronghorn was hangin’ with the deer.  Had he been booted from his herd?  It was a male and it’s very likely the dominant buck ran him off, but why wouldn’t he just find the other bachelors to herd up with - why the deer, of all things?  I think he's a little confused...

There is a large circle of boulders at the end of the winter road, just below the switchbacks, and I parked my car there and got out.  It was so very quiet!  No sounds but the Meadowlarks, Bluebirds, nearby cows, and the breeze through the sagebrush. Someone - most likely a child - had placed three stones on top of one of the boulders.  I immediately loved the simplicity of it and took a few shots of it.  It made me happy and I could not even begin to understand why.

The Missions were prominent; covered with snow and basked in sunlight. I'm drawn to these mountains in ways I don't understand, but I certainly don't fight it - I willingly let them tug at me.

On the way back out I realized that I had not seen a single buffalo!  I looked closely at the tops of the hills and in the lower coulees and dips near the creek -not a bison in sight.  I was disappointed!  Not that I needed to see them; but I expected to.  They're always there and it just seemed so strange.

Before I headed out I stopped at the pond, but it was lifeless. Not a single turtle to be seen.  But it is only March, and they are probably still hibernating in the mud. I did hear a Kingfisher and headed of it the direction from which I heard its voice, but there was a sign that read “Swans nesting; no public access beyond this point”. I wasn’t sure it that meant no access on that trail, or not to get any closer to the pond.  Either way, I retreated back to my car and headed out. 

About a mile or so down Highway 200 there is a Great Horned Owl nest that was pointed out to me last year by a fellow photographer.  The owl was back and looked to be sitting on eggs.  I got a few shots of her and headed home.

On the way home I heard an announcement on the radio that today in the International Day of Happiness.  How appropriate.